Monday, November 18, 2013

Neoclassicism (pt. 3)

Now, we know what started the
French Revolution, and we understand a little better what it meant in its
historical context; but what did the Revolution mean to art? Many artists, such as Marie-Louise-Élisabeth
Vigée-Lebrun, Marie Antoinette's portraitist, had to flee France and did not return
until peace was restored. She continued
to paint, but her portraits after the Revolution typically featured people with
sad, fearful expressions, like her painting called The Bather and her famous portrait
of Madame de la Châtre. Her style had
always included giving people large, expressive eyes in their paintings and
making them look more attractive, but after the Revolution her paintings became
filled with anxiety and woe. Her sitters
appear frightened of the world and insecure about the future. In historical hindsight an observer might mark
that these figures perhaps had good reason for their apprehension.